As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems frequently include a motherboard on which one or more processors, e.g., central processing units, general purpose microprocessors, etc., are attached. The motherboard generally includes one or more connectors for coupling one or more persistent mass storage devices to the one or more processors.
A Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk drive is an example of an industry standard persistent mass storage device. An information handling system that employs SATA drives may have a motherboard that includes one or more SATA-compliant connectors integrated on the motherboard. At least one embodiment of a SATA connector, referred to herein as a latchless connector, does not have any latching elements or features to maintain the data storage device in secure connection with the connector.
While latchless connectors are highly functional with respect to SATA hard disk drives, the absence of latching features may result in connections that are loose, unstable, or otherwise unreliable when used in conjunction with other types of storage devices.